Saturday: Black Panther (Cat) 26.2, 3:06, marathon #84, marathon-a-month #18. Race was officially the Black Cat 20, but I crafted my own marathon-distanced race (and made up my own name for it!) by doubling up on a certain section of the course for an extra 6.2 so that the time on the clock when I finished would be my marathon time. Wasn't racing and had no intentions of doing so, but I did want to get to marathon effort at some point, so I ran easy and very socially for the first 5 miles, which I covered in 38:30, then settled into near marathon pace. I never looked at my watch, so I ran only by feel, and I felt as if I were a touch off of true marathon pace, and in hindsight, after looking at time and splits, I was, probably running 7:00 the rest of the way. Had I finished the race instead of doubling up for extra distance, I would have come in as 2nd place Master runner, and I knew this, as I was running in about Top 20 to 25 even though it was not race pace for 20 miles. Still, with little glory in this race (it's a training run for most), I was set on notching a marathon, and that's what I did. Held on pretty strongly throughout, which was really nice considering I'm just two weeks clear of an injury that robbed me of any speed for 2.5 months.

Sunday: 2.5 mile easy recovery run.

Monday: 4 mile easy run. Legs felt very good after 10 minutes.

All in all, this was a very good weekend for me, running 26.2 so strongly even though I was a touch off of true marathon pace, mainly because my goals this spring and summer do not have me racing any marathons but rather getting comfortable in running long. Boston Double is very much on at this point.

Saw the ortho this morning. Sounds like an easy snip damaged meniscus away procedure that doesn't need much recovery. Looking forward to getting back on the bke (although I think it will be a while before I resume my irregular running). Scheduling surgery ASAP.

Really getting restless with my slugishness and poor eating, so looking forward to getting back in some groove.

No exercise except for a short 2 mile walk last Friday. Dr assure me that I couldn't screw anything up - so will probably hobble around for more walks this week, or maybe try the Nordic Track in the AM again ...

Thor - nice!!!! Congrats on another marathon. You are truly amazing runner!

Geo - sounds like a good news! Must be tough but find a silver lining somewhere (swimming!?). Beautiful time of the year is ahead of you for lots of walking. Of course a little more time left for XC skiing too

Busy day, heading to Ft Lauderdale for biz meeting. Not too excited, with no bike with me or any swimming opp. Running is, as you know, barely there for me right now . Shoot, I forgot to bring a jump rope with me , booooo.

Saw the ortho this morning. Sounds like an easy snip damaged meniscus away procedure that doesn't need much recovery. Looking forward to getting back on the bke (although I think it will be a while before I resume my irregular running). Scheduling surgery ASAP.

Glad you got an answer and a path toward health.

Originally Posted by Yo Sake

Thor - nice!!!! Congrats on another marathon. You are truly amazing runner!

Naw, I'm just stubbornly consistent. The truth is that I'm not afraid to fail, so tempting myself with something like this is, well, not too daunting. Well, maybe that's not true. Maybe it's more that I am quite sure of the athlete that I am, even coming off injury, so I know my limits, and although I'm not afraid to test those limits, I often know when to pull back or when I can push on. In this case I was able to push on. But if I weren't so smart (experience), I may have tried to go race pace from the gun, and then I might have a very different story. I always ride the fine line of trying to set myself up for success verses reaching for that far away goal. It's all good. And I thank you for your words.

As for you in your travels, if running can't get you your fix, maybe check out the hotel gym to fitness center to see what machine(s) you can abuse. But you know this drill more than I, as you travel far more.

Sunday - Even shorter run, then a decent bike ride. 28 miles of mixed terrain. Stopped at one point to enjoy a leisurely drink and noticed a cyclist approaching from behind, so waited for them to catch up and ended up cruising for 5 or 6 miles talking to a random guy on a bike. Good stuff.

Congrats on 2nd (unofficial!) and another marathon streak, Thor!
Geo - glad you got some good answers for recovery
Yoshiko - walk in the sunshine and warm weather of FL? That may do your soul good even if it's not great exercise

11-mile run with a friend, very hilly. My legs are beat. Revising HM goals to better reflect my training, and no more cheesy dinners (pizza, chicken parm) the night before a long run. This getting older is for the birds! Good news is taper is soon, and we may finally get a big snow this week!

Congrats on 2nd (unofficial!) and another marathon streak, Thor!
Geo - glad you got some good answers for recovery
Yoshiko - walk in the sunshine and warm weather of FL? That may do your soul good even if it's not great exercise

11-mile run with a friend, very hilly. My legs are beat. Revising HM goals to better reflect my training, and no more cheesy dinners (pizza, chicken parm) the night before a long run. This getting older is for the birds! Good news is taper is soon, and we may finally get a big snow this week!

Thor-stellar, as usual.
Geo-glad the news had a positive glint to it.
Yoshiko-enjoy the warmth of the sun!
Beth-remind me when is your half? I know how hard it is to adjust goals...my head says finish, my heart is yelling a time goal

AFM - did an easy spin to loosen the legs and then did 4.4 on the TM. It is getting harder and harder to be on the treadmill, I need a babysitter so I can run outside...

Thor- how is it that CP hasn't slowed you down? I remember those days... they were exhuasting.

Matt- when does off road riding start in earnest for you?

Beth and Sparty- remind me of when your races are again?

As for me- took the dog and the husband out for a walk when I got home from work. It was a beautiful afternoon to watch tired parents chase over excited little kids in the park. I cannot believe I survived it! lol

Yes, Sparty - have to get heart and brain to agree on a goal time. I always want to be the athlete I "could" be in a vacuum of training only - no toddler, renovations, life in general. But I'm not in that vacuum. My race is Mar 17 - isn't yours also? I've been in and out of Team LIT news, so that may have changed. I should just be thankful I'm not injured and I'm running relatively faster than I have in a long time. Congrats on your 9 miles the other day! That post baby come back is all uphill, but you are really making it happen!

Tri-Tammy and Beth - yep, 3/17...ACK! No taper on my plan, this week's long run is 10 miles then the following week is the race. I have another half at the end of April, but that one is on the trails so I REALLY need to do more plyometrics in between races.

Ronbo - Yeah, I've lost my mind, first of 3 halves currently scheduled for the year is in a couple of weeks.